This 40" (102 cm) long strand of heavy very old ceramic spindle whorls is composed of 33 "beads", each of which was individually hand made and then used for a very long time to spin cotton thread by the weavers of the Baule tribe in Central Ivory Coast. This strand was compiled by a merchant who collected the whorls one by one and then determined to sell them as a strand of beads. Undoubtedly each whorl tells its own story, each having been used by a different person. The largest of these measures 2″ diameter x 1 1/4" (5 x 3 cm)